


The Equalizer: You Better Watch Out

by silverruffian



Series: The Equalizer [1]
Category: Krampus (2015), Supernatural
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Christmas, Dean Winchester Angst, Demon Dean Winchester, Demon Summoning, First Blade, Gen, Hurt Dean Winchester, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Knight of Hell Dean Winchester, Mark of Cain, Peril, Righteous Man, Saving People Hunting Things, Trapped, Vengeance Demon(s), Weirdness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 22:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5801827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverruffian/pseuds/silverruffian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester gets more than he bargained for when he defends a young boy and his family from Krampus on Christmas Eve. The life of a Knight of Hell with the half-twisted soul of the Righteous Man is never easy. COMPLETE.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. naughty or nice

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Dean Winchester is the Equalizer, a fearsome vengeance demon who is summoned by kids in peril. Think Bloody Mary with the First Blade and extreme attitude. He's making a list, he's checking it twice. You know the drill.
> 
> A/N the second: I keep forgetting that you guys are not in my head with me. When Dean refers to his 'teke' he means his telekinesis, which is the ability to move and manipulate objects with his mind.
> 
> POV: Dean Winchester

"Hands up!" The dude with the shotgun sucked at being badass. His hands shook as he aimed both barrels at my head. He was way too twitchy. I kept a straight face as I raised my arms slow and easy. No sense in poking the beast. Not yet, anyway.

So there I was, standing in the hallway of 8471 Palmetto Way, Tampa, Florida. The house and the shotgun belonged to one Randall DeLeon, a fine upstanding citizen who loved his own kids a little too much. Randall's wife was a former prom queen who'd obviously seen better days. Her name was Lorraine. Her hands didn't shake as she aimed her .38 special at the space between my eyes. He wore the pants in the family most of the time but she was definitely the brains.

_Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer  
Had a very shiny nose_

The music coming out of the stereo in the living room was a bad cover of holiday songs by some no name band. Could have been worse, though. At least it wasn't "Silent Night." I get a slight headache when someone mentions the Big Guy Upstairs or his kid.

A large pine wreath was on the front door. A tall lighted tree stood in the living room by the window. They were keeping up appearances for the neighbors. There wasn't any real joy in that house.

Not the first holiday I ever spent with people who wanted to kill me. Wouldn't be the last time, either.

I could almost hear the wheels turning inside Lorraine's head. She was trying to figure out what I was. A cop? Some Good Samaritan? "Where are my kids, Mister?"

"Oh, the kids?" I shrugged. "I dropped them off at police headquarters."

Randall's jaw dropped open. "You did what!"

"Yep. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that you're both in deep shit right now. The cops know all about the times you raped your kids, Randall. And Mommy Dearest here told them it's all good because Daddy loves them, right?" The smile I gave the bitch was ice cold and sharp enough to cut. "You covered for this sick fuck all these years. Party's over, princess."

Something dark flickered in her eyes. I read her like a book. She gave Randall a quick sideways glance and I knew then she'd already figured out her next move: a bullet in the head for me and then one for Randall.

After that she'd call 911.

By the time the cops showed up she'd play the hysterical widow: "Randall threatened to kill me and my kids if I told anyone. I had to go along with it. I had to! That man, he came to our house. Randall knew him. I didn't. He shot Randall and I shot him when he tried to kill me. The kids are mistaken, officer, I didn't say anything because I was protecting them."

After all, Daisy DeLeon was nine and her brother Christopher was fourteen. Their word against hers and guess who the cops were going to believe?

I winked at her just to let her know that I knew. "And the Oscar for best actress goes to Lorraine the despicable bitch."

Her eyes widened, then narrowed again. Wouldn't be long now.

DeLeon blinked. He was still pretty damn clueless. And I was getting pretty damn bored. I wasn't the only one. I swear the Mark of Cain yawned inside my head and underneath the skin of my right arm. At least that's what it felt like.

_Stupid people are boring. Is this going to go on much longer?_ she whispered.

_Nope. It's showtime._

"You a PI?" Randall barked. "I bet those fucking grandparents down in Florida hired you."

As last words went, I'd heard better. I rolled my eyes. "I'm not. But you're gonna wish I was."

I blinked black.

Lorraine pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

I wouldn't let it.

I thought about crushing the bones in her hand. Lorraine screamed. My teke clamped down hard around her hand and worked its way up her right arm to her shoulder. Her bones snapped like dry twigs. The .38 fell to the floor as she stumbled backwards moaning and landed on her ass.

Randall pulled the trigger of his shotgun twice. More clicks. I jammed that gun too. His eyes bulged out as he stared at my face.

"What are you?" he screamed. "What the hell are you-"

"Funny you should ask." I pulled the First Blade from my back waistband and went to work.

Randall died first, crying and whimpering. Cowards always do that. I guess he couldn't handle somebody bigger than his kids.

Lorraine had more balls than Randall did. She kicked at me with both legs at first. When that didn't work she staggered to her feet and tried to run.

She didn't get far.

* * *

I left the bodies underneath the tree in the living room. Seemed fitting somehow.

_And if you ever saw it  
You would even say it glows_

That lousy singing finally got on my nerves. I blinked green and gave the stereo a dirty look. Grey smoke came out of the speakers as the music died. Silence never sounded so good.

A squad car pulled to the curb in front of the house. First one and then two more. It's never a good thing when the cops jump out of the car with their hands on their guns. They ran up the sidewalk.

The knock on the front door was loud and pretty insistent. Back when I was a human hunter I was on the business end of that particular sound more times than I could count, in cheap motels all over the country. The name of the department changed but that damn knock was always the same.

"This is the Tampa Metropolitan Police Department! Open up!"

I laughed and shook my head as I stepped into the living room doorway I made my voice sound low, rough, and impossibly loud: " _Sorry, Officer, Randall and Lorraine can't come to the door right now. They're burning down in hell for what they did."_

The cops hit the door hard and fast then, just like I knew they would. I faded out as the door slammed back on its hinges. Glass broke and the wreath fell off.

I didn't see what happened next. Someone called my name.

_Dean Winchester._

Once.

_Dean Winchester._

Twice.

_Dean Winchester._

Third time was the charm. The voice belonged to a kid. A boy. He sounded nervous. Scared.

Another call, another job. I headed in that direction.

* * *


	2. the only game in town tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean Winchester gets more than he ever bargained for when he defends a young boy and his family from Krampus on Christmas Eve. The life of a Knight of Hell with the half-twisted soul of the Righteous Man is never easy. Part 2: Dean's resentment about crappy holidays he and Sam had when they were kids nearly derails his plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I keep forgetting that you guys are not in my head with me. When Dean refers to his 'teke' he means telekinesis, which is the ability to move and manipulate objects with his mind.

Didn't take me long to realize that this was not my usual gig. I faded in by the dining room window. The room was lit up with a couple of battery operated lanterns that sat on either end of the dinner table. Several of the adults looked right at me as I appeared and they acted like they didn't notice at first. Typical.

Adults can see weird right in front of them and they make up all kinds of bullshit excuses to deny what they see. Or they try to play it off like nothing's wrong. I use that to my advantage. In two minutes tops the shock of seeing me zap in out of thin air would fade. Then things would most likely get pretty lively in that house.

Took me less than a minute to read everyone in the room. I knew their names, their stories. Typical family stuff. Problems with the job. Money worries. Frayed nerves. Dumbass relatives working everyone else's last nerve. Pretty tame compared to what I usually see in this line of work.

Lucky for them.

The penny finally dropped and the family finally realized something wasn't quite right. Who the hell was that green eyed dude over by the bay window? Three generations gathered together and everybody had that deer in the headlights look.

Well, everybody but the kid who called. He stood a few feet away staring at me like I was Saturday morning cartoons. "I knew it," he muttered. "I knew it! It worked! You came!" His grip on his mom's hand mirror was so tight his knuckles were white.

I winked at him. "Marty Harris, right?"

He nodded. A bright grin spread across his face. "Hey, Dean."

Marty wasn't abused. None of the kids here were. The adults weren't the problem here.

That was outside.

I cast my mojo out in a 360 sweep all around the house and the yards, front and back. Three story house. Lots of windows. Doors too. All the doors and windows were locked but that wouldn't mean jack against what was out there. The place was surrounded and it would be a total bitch to defend.

I turned and looked out the window into the back yard.

Four feet of snow in the back yard already and from the looks of things three or four more feet before this was all over. Up here in Maine they call a storm like this a nor'easter. Looked like a regular old blizzard to me. Visibility was near zero. This kind of wild weather wasn't natural. Typical fugly move: trap the humans in their homes and then move in for the kill. Easy pickings.

Shadows moved around underneath the snow. A flash of teeth here, red eyes there. I counted at least sixty of the sonsofbitches in the back yard alone. Snow flew up into the wind as they moved towards the house and then everything stopped.

"Yeah," I whispered to myself. I knew what this was.

The 'what' in question was called Krampus. His claim to fame? He's the Christmas devil. Santa Claus' shadow self. He punishes those he considers to be unworthy. The fuglies out in the snow were his minions. Not the cute cuddly yellow ones in the movies. These sonsobitches would rip you apart, play jump rope with your guts and laugh about it.

The movement toward the house stopped. They wouldn't rush in. Not yet. I was the one thing they didn't expect. That demon sight works both ways.

The power was off. Inside the house was still warmer than outside but it wouldn't be that way much longer. Didn't make any difference to me. I had on jeans and cowboy boots and a Hawaiian shirt that was so damn loud Stevie Wonder could've spotted me half a mile away. Not my usual style but I had to blend in back in Florida.

"Marty? Who is this?"

Tom Harris was Marty's dad. He stepped in front of me, made direct eye contact. He had cojones, I'll give him that. Harris wanted to protect his family no matter what but he was way out of his league. He just didn't know it yet.

Marty twisted the handle of the hand mirror in both hands over and over again. It was clear he didn't think his folks would believe him.

"I saw stuff about him on the internet. He helps kids. Dad, you have to let him help us. This is all my fault. I tore up the letter to Santa. I made those things out there mad-"

His mom stepped up behind the kid and pulled him backward into her arms. Her mouth firmed into a hard line. She thought she was protecting him. Marty stopped babbling and squirmed in her grip.

"Let's get past all the usual 'This can't be happening' bullshit, shall we?" I nodded towards the back yard. "You don't have much time. Those fuglies outside are going to come in here and kill everybody. Your boy grabbed that hand mirror and said my name three times. He called me. I came. Weird and crazy's the only game in town tonight. So what more proof do you need?"

"Who the hell are you, Mister?" Dude grabbed my arm. Big mistake. For a moment I wanted to wring his neck like a chicken. I leaned in until we were nose to nose. "Funny you should say that." I bared my teeth at him. "Not who. What."

I blinked pitch black.

The room went dead quiet a second time, except for the grandparents. The grandmother, Nana, gasped out loud and made the sign of the cross.

I didn't flinch. Marty's dad froze.

"Who am I?" The vibration from my voice rattled the windows. "I'm the cavalry. I'm the lesser of two evils. I'm the boogeyman who can save you from the monsters outside. Now get your damn hands off me."

Marty's dad jerked away. He backed up towards his wife and kid. Getting away from me was suddenly a mighty fine idea. I blinked green again. I had their undivided attention now. That was a good thing. But even though I had my game face on, I was pissed. Heat flared underneath my skin. The demon in me fed off what I was feeling. Not so good. Let's just say that I have to watch myself during the fall holidays. And not because of certain allergies to certain names either. I didn't go full-on demon after the Mark brought me back but I'm still not fully human either. Everything nearly went south then. And if it had it would have been my own damn fault.

The table was set for dinner. Turkey, ham, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Cakes and pies. Bottles of egg nog. I smelled nutmeg and whiskey.

All the things normal families have for the holidays.

All the stuff my family had the first four years of my life. After that the holidays were always piss poor. The only times I can remember a decent spread was either at Bobby's place or at Blue Earth with Pastor Jim. Mom dead, ashes in the wind. Dad gone off on a hunt most times. Me and Sam stuck in a ratty motel room somewhere scarfing down dried out sandwiches or lousy convenience store food, trying to pretend that microwaved mystery meat was turkey and cranberry sauce.

And those were the good times.

I pretended nothing mattered, when it did matter. There were times I felt like using a gun and the skills Dad taught me to take what my family needed and didn't have. I never did but I'd be lying if I said I never thought about it.

Parents, a roof over my head...that was normal. Normal was what I had back when when I was a kid.

Marty might not think so but normal was what he had right now, even with all the crap his family was going through. The scared look on his face and the way he relaxed when he saw me reminded me why I do this gig in the first place. After my mom died I went through tons of crap. No other kid should have to.

The rage and the heat in my skin went cold.

Marty never let go of that mirror. That kid had weight on his shoulders and the weight wasn't his in the first place. He thought he'd brought this on his family. I call bullshit on that one. The shadows in the world don't need an excuse to kill. But they get off on fear, just like that bastard Krampus. I'd never met him. That was going to change tonight.

"Hey, Marty?" I said quietly. "Lighten up. None of this is your fault."

He swallowed hard past that lump in his throat. He didn't believe me. I get that a lot from the kids I meet.

I turned towards the front door. Everybody, and I mean everybody moved out of my way. Several of the adults grabbed their kids and held them tight as I walked past.

Couldn't blame them for that.

"I'll be on the porch. Don't touch the walls and the windows."

I snagged one of the bottles of eggnog as I passed by. Hey, I was thirsty.

Satan's tramp stamp was pretty quiet so far. Too damn quiet. Hadn't heard a peep out of her since Florida. The Mark wants to live as much as I do but sometimes I wonder.

Maybe one of these days she'd let me die just because she could.

Wakey wakey, princess. Time to go to work.

Kill the humans? The Mark thought hopefully. Damn. As usual she got what I was feeling all ass backwards.

Just the fuglies. Not the humans. I walked through the archway into the front hallway. Since Cain passed the Mark to me I figured she might be good for some intel. Did Cain ever meet Krampus?

No.

I had the feeling that even if Cain had the bitch wouldn't tell me.

I can kill with a touch. So I want you to put that mojo into the building once we're on the porch. I mean into every square inch. The pipes, the walls, the roof, floors and windows, the basement. Everywhere.

Why?

You know what an electric bug zapper is?

No.

Metal charged with electricity. Kills bugs when they touch it. I can't let the fugs get inside the house.

Oh. That might not work.

Do it anyway. If a normal human can charge an object with intention, then with all the power I've got why can't I do the same? I'm making this up as I go along.

As you wish.

Three feet away from the front door the Mark flared up red as fire. I vanished, then reappeared on the porch. A wave of red energy washed over the house, the doors, walls and windows, from the front to the back. Anything watching would have figured I was just showing off.

I just hoped they wouldn't pick up on what I really did.

I opened up the bottle of egg nog and drained half of it in one long swallow. Damn. Marty's mom really knew how to whip up the good stuff. I capped the bottle and held onto it. I walked over to the top of the stairs. As I leaned against the porch frame the wind died down and the snow stopped. I saw red eyes all around.

"Heya, fellas." I grinned at them.

Time to go to work.


	3. a cold knight in white hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The current Knight of Hell meets the Christmas Demon. The Mark of Cain reveals something from her past. Dean discovers he has a past and present connection to Krampus. Dean also discovers that ganking a nine foot tall goat demon is not as easy as it looks.

Twenty feet away the nearest lump of snow raised up in a pile about four feet tall. The snow shifted into a red hooded figure. It stood there with its head down, arms folded across its chest. The fugly lifted its head and showed a mouthful of needle sharp black teeth. I already knew what the damn things really looked like so I didn't react.

It had chubby pink cheeks, curly blonde hair. She was nine years old when she died about a hundred years ago. More faces poked up from underneath the snow. All red-eyed. Mostly young kids but there were some adults. They were male and female, from every race on earth past and present.

All the more reason for me to gank this sorry sonofabitch.

"This does not concern you, Knight." I imagined this thing hunkered down in the snow calling out "Please...I'm lost...help me" in a frightened little girl's voice. The better to sucker some unsuspecting person in range of those razor sharp teeth and claws.

I uncapped the eggnog and took a short swallow. "It does now. The kid called me. I came. You'll die. That's how this works."

"These people do not believe in the season. They are wicked. False."

I capped the bottle, turned and tossed it onto the porch swing. It landed on the cushions and didn't break. "Bullshit. The Dad lost his job. Money is tight. Not having the Christmas spirit doesn't warrant a death sentence."

It cocked its head to one side. "So you defend these nonbelievers?"

"Damn right I do."

"Very well." It sank down back into the snow.

The temp was twenty degrees and dropping fast. I breathed white fog in and out with every breath. Even though I was in shirt sleeves that felt like a cool summer breeze. It's way colder down in Hell. I've been there. Think there's no ice or snow down there? Don't believe the hype.

The stairs were icy and snow-packed. I made a gesture with my right hand and swept the stairs and the sidewalk clean.

I walked down the stairs.

Two things happened at once. The fugs in the back yard didn't move. The ones in the front yard did. They burrowed underneath the snow to the furthest corner of the front yard. They formed a snowbank about chest high. I saw shadows and red eyes moving back and forth inside.

Twenty feet away from the house I stopped. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

Something was coming.

The wind picked up. A large funnel cloud of snow formed in the center of the yard. It didn't come from the sky; it came from the ground. The shadow shape inside the funnel stood nine feet tall. It was hunchbacked. The horns formed last. They were four feet long and curved backwards.

The snow melted away and I got my first good look. Imagine a big ass red-eyed goat with long yellow fangs that walked on two legs. That's what this sonofabitch looked like. His feet were cloven, as wide around as a manhole cover.

The thing wore a long hooded red robe trimmed in white fur. I smelled iron and rust. Krampus was the kind of fug who used "all parts of the buffalo" if you get my meaning. He used a lot of the kids he judged unworthy to help him round up others. The bastard wore the skins of the teenagers and adults who didn't make the cut and he dyed the skins with their blood. Large rusty chains wound around his neck, chest and waist. His fur was grey and black, long and matted.

We stared each other down for a long moment. The minions crowded around behind him.

"Dean Winchester. Brother of Samuel. Eldest son of John and Mary," Krampus rumbled. "The so-called Righteous Man turned Knight of Hell."

Damn. He sounded just like Bane from "The Dark Knight Rises."

These hellbound bastards do love to hear themselves talk. I still didn't like hearing those names come out of its mouth.

"Yeah? So?" Color me unimpressed.

Not the reaction it was looking for. "You don't remember me, do you?"

"Nope. Can't say that I do."

The goat thing nodded. "We've met before, little wolf."

Little? Oh yeah, I was gonna enjoy gutting him with the First Blade.

"Not ringing any bells here, chief. Help me out, will ya?"

"You were a child when I first saw you. You owe your life, your very existence to me."

"No shit."

"Azazel set in motion a chain of events that stretches forth to this very day. Your family was weakened by the death of your mother. Did you know that Nicholas wanted to kill you and your brother when you were children?"

I scowled at him. "Who the hell is Nicholas?"

"St. Nicholas." Krampus huffed. "Oh, you know him better as Santa Claus. He doesn't have the stomach for wet work. All talk, no action. I refused. You Winchesters amused me."

"Oh we did, did we?"

"Yes! You roamed the streets stealing things to make your younger brother happy. It's unusual to see such skill and cunning in one so young. Samuel burned brightly with rage and resentment. You both showed such promise, even at that early age."

"Cut to the chase, Billy Goat Gruff. I'm getting bored here."

"Of course! When he was nine years old your brother saw me in the closet in his bedroom. I meant no harm. I came to visit every year this time. Your brother told your father about me. Your father gave him a gun." Krampus smirked. "As if that would have stopped me."

Sonofabitch.

"Well, you're in luck, Goat Boy. Consider yourself stopped for good tonight." I pulled the First Blade from my back waistband.

The shit hit the fan pretty damn quick.

The chains around Krampus' body rattled. They were large and rusty with wicked looking barbed hooks on the ends. The ends rose up in the air and waved back and forth. They grew longer. The chains divided again and again. There were hundreds of those bastards now.

They uncoiled and they hissed as they came at me. The ends of the chains split in two, then four. What looked like barbed hooks shifted into snake heads, four on the end of each chain.

They opened their mouths and that's when I saw their fangs were coated with blue ice.

Sonofabitch!

We should leave, the Mark whispered. She sounded nervous. NOW.

What the hell?

I waited until they were a foot away and then teleported two feet to the left. I turned and swung the First Blade. The idea was to slice the chains in half.

Well, that was the plan at least. Didn't work out that way.

We have to leave. You have to listen to me.

The Blade should have sliced through those chains like a hot knife through butter. It didn't. Instead I heard a scraping sound, bone against metal. The Blade bounced off.

That never happened before.

My arm shook with the impact. The vibration traveled down my right side. As if that wasn't bad enough? I felt funny. Weak. A thin coating of blue ice formed on my arm, from my fingers all the way up to my shoulder. The cold sank through my clothes, my skin, all the way down to the bone. It was a cold burn. Felt like Hell.

The chains raised up all around me like a cobra's hood. I was caught in the middle. The heads hissed. Everything slowed down. I jerked back as they struck at my face and arms.

My skin stung in several places. Above my right eye. My chin. The pain traveled down the left side of my jaw down my neck.

I pushed them back with a thought. Sent a wave of force through them. I snapped necks, twisted heads off. It wasn't enough. There were too damn many of them. And I couldn't kill them by touch because if they saw that red glow Krampus would probably figure out what I'd done with the house.

I 'ported out. For a weird moment my power stalled. My head felt fuzzy. I came back in front of the porch steps. Think I faded in looking all badass? Think again. I came back on my knees. My right arm hurt like a bitch and so did everywhere else. If it weren't for my demon sight I would have been blind. Everything was grey. I kept my game face on but I couldn't hold onto the First Blade. I dropped it.

They could have rushed forward and jumped me right then. They didn't. I got why they didn't.

We're just playing with you, boy. This isn't going to end well. For you.

I willed myself to heal. The pain didn't go away entirely, but I could deal with it. The ice on my right arm melted. I picked the Blade up in my left hand because my right was still numb. I could move and I could see again.

The minions came out of the snowbank to get a better look at what was going on. Krampus stood there. The chains waved from side to side but they didn't move forward.

"Cute trick," I sneered at Goat Boy.

He laughed. "My birth pleased Father so much that he personally forged my chains in Hell. Do you like them, Dean? I'd be so disappointed if you didn't."

"Kiss my ass."

"If you insist. I'm flattered."

The Mark stirred. So the bitch didn't tell me everything. What a surprise. Something you want to tell me?

Father...

...is Lucifer. I got that. Bastard's got a hard on for snakes. Big surprise. What else? I cradled my right arm against my body as I stood up. The sudden change in position made me dizzy. I stumbled and the minions howled with laughter. I wanted to go over there and gank the whole lot of them myself.

Cain never met Krampus. Because I stopped him.

Why?

Father doesn't like to see his children fight. It would be...bad.

No doubt. And I take it you couldn't stop me because I've got the Righteous Man's soul, huh?

She didn't answer.

That's just fucking wonderful.

But we're not leaving, are we?

I didn't answer.

We left the yard.

I'm not a fan of high places but they're useful when I want to ambush somebody. The apartment building next door fit the bill. Six stories high, flat roof. I came out of thin air kneeling in the farthest corner. A quick scan of the building below showed I was in the clear. No fuglies inside, just humans hiding in the dark. I heard them whispering to each other. The people on the other side of the building apparently didn't know what was going on outside. At least two of them in the floor directly below me had a ringside seat to the show in Marty's yard.

"Dude! Dude! What the hell are those things? Tell me me you're filming this! Tell me you got all this!"

"I got it man, I got it! Good thing we put the zoom lens on the camera. Where'd that guy go? How'd he disappear like that?"

Huh. I can see this vid going viral on You Tube. Sammy's gonna bitchface when he sees it.

Down in the yard Goat Boy and his munchkins didn't move. They faced the opposite direction, towards Marty's house. The fugs in the front yard burrowed back underneath the snow drifts. The ones in the back waited. They had a clear path to the house on both sides.

They were waiting for a sign. So was I.

As far as I could tell my bug zapper was still active. Marty's house glowed soft red. I saw the killing energy because I was linked to it. But I'd never done this before and I wasn't sure how long the charge would last.

My head felt better. The bites weren't as sore. I flexed my fingers, shifted the Blade from my left to my right. My right hand still wasn't one hundred percent yet but it was getting there.

I couldn't take those damn snake chains head on. But I couldn't take any more hits like that.

So Lucifer didn't like to see his kids fight, huh? I guess he didn't want to see his weapons kill each other off.

Krampus threw back his head, opened his mouth and stretched out his tongue. The damn thing was two feet long, dark blue with black spots and forked on the ends. The howl that came out of him shook the ground.

His monsters howled back. They rose up out of the snow.

Showtime.

Somebody inside Marty's house screamed. Male. One of the uncles, I think. The fuglies in the back were on the move too. The ones in the front yard were halfway across.

I stood up. Never did like heights. Still don't.

But I thought of Marty. And the way he looked at me when I showed up. I'm a fucking demon with one foot in Hell and the other in Heaven and he was happy and relieved to see me. The cavalry had arrived.

That kid called me.

He trusted me.

I ran for the edge of the roof and jumped off.


	4. ...when out on the lawn there arose such a clatter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean versus Krampus and the minions. Round one.

I dropped feet first. Six stories up and falling fast. Mr. Gravity was a finicky bitch who'd turn on me in a heartbeat.

Speaking of which...

If you have more intel on this loathsome sonofabitch, speak now or forever hold your peace.

The Mark didn't answer me.

Suit yourself, princess.

Five floors up.

There had to be some really fucked up reason the Mark kept Cain from going mano ã mano with Goat Boy. If I used the First Blade on Krampus would that bounce back on me like some half-assed voodoo doll? If I cut him, would I cut myself? That kind of freaky crap would really flip the script on this job.

Four.

Lines crawled underneath the snow toward the house. A lot of snow kicked up into the air. All the fugs would reach ground zero at the same time.

And when they did...hello bug zapper.

Three floors.

My eyes went black. I filled my right hand with the First Blade.

The ground came up fast.

Things went south even faster.

The fugs stopped. Heads popped up out of the snow. Krampus turned and looked up at me.

Sonofabitch!

Goat Boy grinned at me, toothy and yellow.

"There you are, little wolf! We missed you!" He raised his left arm up and crooked one long nasty looking finger at me. The chains hissed and rattled. They slid from around his waist and shot up into the air towards me.

I was screwed. Couldn't get out of the way in time. The snake chains wrapped around my legs. A thick sheet of ice covered my legs from ankles to knees. The fangs shredded my jeans and bit into my skin, right down to the bone.

The Mark roared full blast underneath my skin. I should have bled out but I didn't.

The chains yanked me down ten feet.

My mojo and the Mark flared up all around me. The hooks pushed out and my skin healed up. The ice cracked. It exploded into a cloud of splinters in the air around me. So did the chains.

Fat lot of good that did me: for every one I got rid of sixty more took their place. Didn't have many options at that point. I sure in the hell wasn't going to leave. Couldn't zap the snake chains, either. That red glow would tip them off that I charged the house. I couldn't screw up the bug zapper.

I pushed them all away and 'ported out.

The element of surprise was blown now. And my frenemies Mr. Gravity and his buddy the laws of physics weren't having it. Like it or not (and I don't) objects in motion tend to stay in motion. I couldn't stop my fall. All I could do was bend it. I came back on an angle ten feet away from Goat Boy. The only good part about that was his back was to me. My good luck didn't last long. The minions ducked back underneath the snow and made a beeline for me.

Goat Boy turned just as I lunged at him.

He grabbed at me and I left. When I came back I was behind him again. Backstabbing him was a dick move. Ask me if I care.

A quick flick of my wrist and the First Blade cut deep into his hamstrings. Dark green blood splattered onto the snow.

Krampus threw back his head and howled at the night sky. So did the minions. Music to my ears.

I didn't feel a thing.

Oh hell yes!

Time to go to work.

I reached up and nailed him right across the small of his back, a deep cut from side to side. Bits of grey black fur and dark red cloth flew up into the air. Through the large cut in his robe I saw the yellow knobs of his spine.

More screams.

Goat Boy's skin knit back together. Fur sprouted out of his skin like grass. I didn't like that. But if I could make him bleed, I could kill him.

Incoming. The ground underneath my feet shook. The minions changed course and headed my way. The chains snaked towards me. It was getting too damn crowded where I was, so I left.

But I didn't go far.

When I came back I was all over him like a cheap suit, in and out of the space around him. Krampus grabbed at me over and over again. I slashed at the bastard with the Blade each time. I stabbed him in the head, neck, belly and shoulders. I hacked off four fingers on his right hand, his thumb and the two middle fingers on his left.

The minions never stopped screaming.

The air around us filled with bits of torn cloth, bone splinters, fur, hair and blood. Some of the blood and skin was mine.

Krampus bawled like a bitch, pissed off that he couldn't get his paws on me. The snake chains had better luck. I was hit everywhere.

The ones that got me paid for it. I ripped them apart with my teke. Bastards weren't stupid. They jerked back, they bobbed and weaved in the air all around me. I was bitten all over. Cold blue ice and snow crawled over my body and my clothes.

I didn't notice the minions screaming anymore. What I did notice wasn't good: Goat Boy healed up. His stumps re-shaped into claws that were just as sharp as ever.

Damn. I'd have to step up my game, give him a cut that he couldn't come back from.

He healed, and I never stopped cutting. The minions were all around us now. They pressed up against Krampus and crawled up his body. The higher they went, the higher the snow on the ground piled up around him.

I 'ported out to higher ground, namely Krampus' back. He tried to buck me off. Didn't work, so he jerked his head back. He tried to knock me off. His horns were long but they were curved at the ends.

I snapped off the left horn bare-handed.

Krampus bellowed. The minions screamed. I held onto the stump and hacked off the right one with the Blade. I couldn't get to the hump at the back of his neck with those damn horns in the way.

I went to work with the Blade. The shock of the blows traveled up my arm. Felt like I was chopping away at a thick log.

The snake chains moved in all around me.

There were too many of the damned things. More ice and snow caked over my clothes. I mean, that damn stuff went all over me. The cold burned right down to my core. I never stopped chopping at Goat Boy but I felt myself slowing down.

That's how things went sideways.

The chains parted like the Red Sea.

Krampus turned inside his space like a fucking cat. One moment I stared at the back of his ugly head; next thing I knew we were face to face. He grinned at me as he wrapped one hand around my throat. His claws punched into my jugular. Blood sprayed up into the air, but it was red blood.

My blood.

I twisted forward, stretched out my arm. The tip of the Blade skated across his eyes.

That really pissed him off. He blocked my arm with his and slammed me backwards into the ground.

I hit so hard everything around me went white. I couldn't reach his head or his face, so I slashed at his arm over and over again. No joy. Damn.

Green blood splattered all over the two of us.

Krampus growled and hooked his claws into my left ankle. He flipped me over and slammed me face first into the ground three times. Hitting the ground that hard didn't knock the snow off me. If anything the snow and ice became thicker. Some kind of mystical bullshit, I guess.

My cheekbones caved in, then knitted back together. My jaw broke in two places.

Goat Boy rumbled laughter, like everything was just so damned funny.

I didn't like the sound of that.

He grabbed me with both hands, one around my neck, the other around both my ankles. He lifted me up over his head and threw me towards the house.

I hit the ground twenty feet away. Went right into a damn snowbank. I hit so hard my jaws snapped shut and I damn near bit the tip of my tongue off. I bounced up, like a stone skipped across the surface of a pond.

Snow went everywhere. I turned in mid air and saw the house coming at me fast.

Shit!


	5. creatures are stirring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean versus Krampus, round two. Just when you think things are at their worst...they get really BAD.

I gave myself an extra push. Everything around me blurred. The damn laws of physics hadn't cut me any slack before and now this was more of the same. I had way too much momentum going backwards like that.

The Mark flared up. My skin and bone itched as I healed deep inside.

I blinked green again. I twisted around, dropped into a crouch. I leaned forward, put my left hand down and steadied myself. Didn't do much good at first. I didn't slow down until I slid backwards twenty feet. Everything Around me faded from shades of grey and then back to dark purple shadows as I went from Marty's backyard into another location topside.

I was somewhere else.

No snow. Green grass slipped through my fingers. I sure in the hell wasn't in Maine anymore. It was still night.

Flashing red and blue lights all around. Radio chatter in the air and it sounded awfully damn familiar.

Like law enforcement.

Cops all around, standing next to their cruisers, on the front steps and the porch of the house behind me. The coroner's meat wagon was there too.

Everyone turned to stare at me. Temps in the upper seventies and there I was covered in ice and snow doing a pretty damn good imitation of Frosty the Snowman, minus a carrot nose, two pieces of coal for eyes and that dumbass black top hat.

Nobody said a damn thing. These cops were too damn professional to stand there with their jaws dropped, but the general feeling was what the fuck is this? all the same. Only the ones on the radio kept talking, and that was because they weren't there and didn't know what was going on. A huge brown police dog nearby strained at its handler's leash and started barking its fool head off.

Demon GPS kicked in just then, even though I didn't need it. I knew good and damn well where I was: the front lawn of 8471 Palmetto Way. Tampa, Florida. The last earthly home of Mr. and Mrs. McPerv, Randall and Lorraine DeLeon.

I'll be damned. Well, I already am, but still. I was right back where I started tonight.

The shock of seeing a snow dude pop in out of thin air holding a wicked looking bone blade wore off pretty damn quick with this crowd. Several of the cops nearest me drew their weapons. In another second all of them did.

I smirked at them. "Is there a problem, Officers?"

WE SHOULDN'T GO BACK! The Mark yelped inside my head.

We already had this conversation. I'm not listening to you and you can't make me.

As you often say, what are you, four?

Shut up.

"Put the weapon down and lie on the ground! Slowly! Hands above your head!" the red-faced older cop by the nearest squad car roared.

If I moved, they'd shoot me.

I ignored them. I saw Marty's yard inside my head. More of the minions came out of the snow. They crowded around Goat Boy purring like kittens. They rubbed their faces against his robe. Krampus stood there swaying back and forth. His hands shook as the minions crowded around him and grabbed at his fingers. Underneath the ice and snow I was covered in bites and bruises. He looked worse than I did.

Good. I was just getting started.

I reached out with my mind. Goat Boy wasn't the only one who could create wild weather. I needed cover, so I made some. The wind picked up; all I had to do was think about it. Snow filled the air. Thunder and lightning flashed overhead.

The cop directly in front of me was a woman. Blonde hair, grey eyes. Not bad looking for a uniform. She was rock steady. Her gun was pointed at the space between my eyes and her aim didn't waver.

I winked black at her.

"Jesus Christ-"

I didn't flinch. Sorry. JC doesn't have anything to do with this.

My demon mojo flexed around me as I lunged forward and up. Snow and ice slid from my back and shoulders onto the green grass.

The cops opened fire.

Everything slowed down around me. The noise of the shots echoed sharp and flat. Silver bullet trails stretched towards me.

I was gone before they hit.

Marty's yard. Visibility was near zero but I could still see everything. The house was still intact. No broken windows or walls. The bricks and the window glass glowed a dull red only I could see, so I knew the fugs hadn't tripped the bug zapper. The wind I whipped up pushed the most of the snow back from the center of the yard. I saw lumps here and there. I didn't pay that much attention to that. Not until later.

Big mistake.

I came back six feet above and directly in front of Krampus. When I dropped down I was face to face with the Christmas Demon. The look of shock in those creepy yellow eyes was priceless.

I grinned at him. "Hey, Goat Boy! You still miss me?"

I didn't give him time to answer. I swung the First Blade.

The edge of the Blade sliced through his neck like butter. It dragged a little as it cut through bone.

Goat Boy's head flew off. It bounced up into the air and hit the ground twenty feet away. It rolled around and came to a rest with his neck stump pointed up, his blank eyes staring up at the sky.

Game over. Winchester for the win.

The wind and snow died down. I 'ported out and came back standing fifteen feet away.

The minions wailed.

And the crowd goes wild…

The Mark sang underneath my skin. The bitch knew I had to kill all of them. I didn't have a choice. They started out innocent but they weren't any more. I couldn't let them go. Since they didn't trip the bug zapper I'd have to go hands on.

Something wasn't right. I saw movement over to my left. Krampus' head jiggled at first. Then it began to roll.

Back to his body. The horns thumped against the bare ground as it went.

Tha-thump.

What the hell?

Tha-thump.

The minions didn't move. I counted at least thirty around Krampus. Now some of them were missing.

Goat Boy grinned at me, from ear to ear.

Sonofabitch!

I gripped the Blade even tighter and took a step forward. That was as far as I got.

I took one step forward. Something slammed into the center of my chest. I staggered backwards. Sharp metal tore into me from behind. Glass broke.

The Mark went silent.

I felt weird. Somebody grunted. Dude sounded surprised.

I got it then. That dude was me. I realized what was wrong then. I looked down at myself.

The chains...the fucking chains...

Blood bubbled up from the tears in my shirt. A hundred of the bastards were stuck in my chest in a tight circle. The snake heads were already underneath my skin. I felt them moving and squirming as they pushed deep inside me.

I stared at my right hand. My fingers jerked and twitched. My hand was empty. I didn't remember when I dropped the First Blade.

My head wobbled like a bobblehead. I saw Marty's house. It was further away. What the hell? I was in the front yard before, wasn't I? How the fuck did this happen?

One of the small fuglies skittered forwards and licked at the bloody snow. Took me a moment to realize that was blood. My blood. The little bitch turned and ran back to join the others.

Yeah. I hope you choke on it.

I had enough demon juice left in me to see everything, and none of it was good. I was on the sidewalk next to the street. I'd been thrown backward against one of the parked cars and spread-eagled against the damned thing. More chains crawled all over me, around my wrists, chest, legs and ankles, through the broken windows of the car, from one side to another.

The ones inside me never stopped moving. They crawled over and inside my ribcage. They coiled up around my heart.

My head wobbled like a bobblehead. All I could do was watch as two minions crawled forward and picked up Krampus' head. One of them climbed up his body and stuck the head back on his neck.

The bastard never stopped smiling.

Twenty of the chains rose up in front of me. They twisted together and made a hangman's noose. The noose looped underneath my chin and around my throat.

The chains tightened all over. My feet raised up from the ground. The back of my head and my shoulders slammed against the roof of the car. All four tires on the car blew as the frame buckled with a crunch of metal. The car I was chained to rocked back and forth.

My spine snapped just as my ribs caved in. Cold and pain rolled through me. Fire and ice. The cold didn't numb anything. It was a different kind of blade and it cut just as deep as the snake heads did.

The noose around my neck tightened again. I bled all over. The chains crawled around inside me. That was the only thing I could feel.

I couldn't turn my head, couldn't look anywhere but up at the night sky.

The ground shook. Footsteps. Laughter,

Krampus was coming.

I was so screwed.


	6. visions of sugar plums dance in his head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are not going well for Dean. Krampus is winning.

I didn't feel so good. Head felt fuzzy. There was something I could do to get out of this but I couldn't remember what it was. Inside my head I saw black air that moved. No, it was fog. Mist? Wait, that wasn't right either.

The ground shook and the air turned foul as Krampus came near. Eau de hellgoat, thick and sour. I never noticed that before but I was too busy trying to gank his sorry ass then.

All I could do was lay there and breathe, and I wasn't having much luck doing that. My lungs were rolled up tight as newspapers with those damn chains wrapped around them. The snake heads moved and squirmed as they pushed deep inside me. They bit into me.

I tasted dirty copper and slime on my tongue and in my mouth. Each bite took something out of me. Whatever mojo I had left they took from me.

_You're an idiot!_ the Mark hissed inside my head.

_...shut up..._

_You could have teleported the humans out when we first came. Moved them, put them somewhere-_

_Doesn't work like that...he'd..he'd follow them..._

_We didn't have to come back here the second time! We didn't have to come here at all!_

_I SAID SHUT UP!_

She did.

The door underneath my left shoulder snapped in two. I heard a wet sound as the broken frame punched through my lower left side.

The pain was so bad my head jerked up and back and hit the roof hard enough to leave a bowl shaped dent in the metal.

"G-gnnuhhh!"

I didn't want to give that goat bastard the satisfaction of hearing me scream but I couldn't help it.

I was close to losing it. I mean completely. Never felt so damned helpless in my life. Staring up at the night sky wasn't enough to take my mind off what I was feeling.

Krampus came into view right above me. The bastard healed up completely. I couldn't see any of the cuts I'd made on him. But now I had something to concentrate on. Something to keep my mind off the pain and the squirming around inside me.

Bastard grinned at me, then he opened his mouth and his tongue rolled out. It was as long and thick as a fire hose, pale blue, covered with bumps and forked at the end. His breath smelled so bad I would have blown chunks if I had anything besides snake chains in my stomach.

The sonofabitch licked a stripe up the right side of my face. I clamped my lips together but I didn't have the strength to stop what happened next.

He tongued me.

Krampus smelled foul. The taste of him was even worse. Sulfur and shit and rotten meat. My gag reflex kicked in. My back arched and my heels kicked against the metal behind me.

His tongue pushed past my tonsils, all the way down my throat. The next thing I knew the bastard pulled back, grinning, as his tongue slid back into his mouth.

My chin and mouth were slick with his damn spit. I turned my head to the side as far as I could and spat, but I couldn't get rid of the taste in my mouth.

I blinked black and snapped at him, but I was so weak I couldn't hold onto my mojo. My eyes turned green and the noose around my neck tightened up again.

Krampus slurped at my skin like a kid licking an ice cream cone, down my neck, my chest, my stomach and my cock. My clothes were rags. Now they were wet and sticky.

"When I get loose I'm going to kill you." That came out in a low growl. Good. I sounded more badass than I felt.

When he was done Goat Boy's tongue slid back into his mouth. "The Mark of Cain is angry, Knight. I tasted her anger through your skin."

"Fuck you."

"Later, if you wish. You taste good."

Something hard poked into my right thigh. Crap. Bastard had a boner as long as a baseball bat. "Did you like it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Hell no. But I've got a better idea. When I get loose we'll have a threesome."

"Really?"

"Yep. You...me...and the First Blade."

Goat Boy pinched the right side of my face like some fugly ass grandma."You're adorable, little wolf."

"Don't freaking touch me."

He squeezed so hard my cheekbone broke. When he let go he ran the tips of his claws down my face, down to the inverted anti-possession tattoo on the right side of my chest. I rolled my eyes. Oh this was great. Just fucking great. First I was violated by demon tongue and now the fugly sonofabitch was copping a feel.

All I could do was glare at him.

"You've lost the battle and the war." Krampus cleaned my blood off his claws with one lick. "Would you like to know _why_ you lost?"

"I just _know_ you're gonna tell me."

"You went against your true nature."

"No shit."

Krampus made a _tsk tsk_ sound. "A Knight of Hell with the soul of the Righteous Man. That's a terrible combination! It's no wonder you wasted your talents on this stupid children's crusade. You'll be put to good use from now on."

"Really."

The Christmas Demon nodded. "But of course! After I break you the possibilities are endless. I might put you inside one of my snowglobes. Chain you up in a corner of my workshop and have my way with you. I'm sure my minions would love to have a turn at you too."

Some of the minions smacked their lips and hooted. Bastards.

Goat Boy leaned in again and rubbed his hard on against my side. "Whatever is more entertaining for me. You wear pain and suffering well. It suits you. The Mark will not let you die. You have an eternity as my pet to look forward to."

"Uh huh. That's not happening, McPerv."

"And why not, Dean?" Krampus cocked his head to one side.

I smirked at him. "What, you forgot already? Threesome, remember?"

Krampus sighed.

"Dude, am I boring you?"

"Yes. All this empty bravado is tiresome. I don't expect much else from you tonight." He moved around behind me, out of sight. That bothered me. Without being able to focus on Krampus' ugly mug the pain and the chewing inside me became worse.

Out of the corner of my right eye I saw his claws curl around the edge of the frame and push up. The car shifted. My arms and legs were damn near pulled out of their sockets as the chains jerked even tighter. The roof I laid on tilted upwards at an eighty degree angle. I had a perfect view of Marty's yard and house.

I had a pretty damn good idea why.

Krampus came into view again. His sharp yellow smile stretched from ear to ear. "There. That's better. Now you may watch as those you foolishly chose to protect are dragged to their hellish reward."

He turned towards his minions and nodded. "Go now. Bring forth the harvest."

Heads pulled back underneath the drifts. Snow flew into the frozen dry air.

The first wave of minions leaped onto the front porch. They charged at the windows and the front door.

Nothing happened. No red flash. No fugly zapper.

_Oh shit._


	7. 'twas the night before Christmas when all through the house

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean versus Krampus. The tide of battle is turning.

Fuck. _Fuck!_

My stomach twisted up into knots. I screwed up. Big time. And now Marty and his family were going to pay the price.

The first wave slammed against the front door and the windows. I saw a bright red flash.

The minions shrieked.

In my mind's eye I saw the ones in the back yard make contact with the back porch. The night lit up with red flashes of light. The glow flared up and flowed over the house, from front to back, side to side.

The second and third waves weren't fast enough to get away or strong enough to break free. The minions piled up against the house six feet deep on all sides.

Red death rolled over them like a tidal wave. They were crispy critters in the blink of an eye. Every last damn one of them died screaming. They screamed so loud the car windshields everywhere blew out in a spray of silver.

None of the windows in Marty's house broke.

Inside the house Marty's family stood looking out. They didn't touch the window glass. Every last one of them stared outside bug-eyed. Marty's mom stood with her arms wrapped around him but she had a hard time holding on to the kid.

He jumped up and down grinning. "I told you! I told you Dean would save us!"

I felt pretty damn good when I heard that.

The grey stink of burned hair and flesh hung low to the ground. The wind picked up and blew the piles of black ash apart. It swirled up into the night sky.

Oh me of little faith. It worked. The freaking house zapper worked!

That surprised me so much I barked out a laugh. The sound that came out of me wasn't human. It was too loud, too deep. I couldn't stop laughing.

The damn snake chains inside me stopped biting. I felt them blink and cock their heads to one side as if they were listening to the minions scream.

Krampus threw his head back and howled at the night sky.

"How's winning working out for you, Billy Goat Gruff?" I called out.

His head snapped around in my direction.

I stopped laughing. Huh. There was something funny about him. Funny peculiar, not funny haha. I leaned forward as far as the noose around my neck would allow. There wasn't much slack in the line. The chain cut into my skin. Blood ran down my neck. I ignored it.

Krampus looked different. His teeth and his horns weren't as long or as sharp as they had been before. I saw yellow bone underneath patches of thin grey fur. That blood red robe of his looked faded out. He was still a tall sonofabitch but he looked thinner somehow.

Goat Boy roared. He leaped at me so fast he was a blur. I blinked and he was _there_ , standing over me.

The left side of my face went hot. I saw stars and constellations.

He hit me.

WHUMP!

He hit me again, this time in my chest. Three more ribs broke.

My insides filled with the buzz of metal scraping against bone. The sonsofbitches inside me were on the move. This time they didn't just bite me.

They were eating me.

They shredded my lungs, tore up my heart. Broken bones ripped through my skin.

WHUMP!

My back arched. I jerked against the chains. Warm blood splattered over my skin.

WHUMP!

Another flare of pain, sharp and white hot. Bone broke. My nose this time.

WHUMP!

I caught hell from both sides. Krampus pounded me on the outside and the snakes went to town on my insides.

WHUMP!

I saw black fog twisting around in mid-air in the space behind my eyes. Weird. I'd seen that before, hadn't I?

WHUMP!

There was something I could do to turn this around but I couldn't remember what it was...

WHUMP!

Fog... no, that wasn't right.

WHUMP!

Black...black smoke...

WHUMP!

...that was it…

WHUMP!

...smoke...I can...

WHUMP!

I can smoke out of this…

_WHUMP!_

_I remembered. I remembered what I could do._

_Sonofabitch._

* * *

 


	8. the children were nestled all snug in their beds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean discovers that Krampus has a secret.

Krampus put his paw around my throat. He raised his other arm up, claws balled up into a fist.

_WHUMP!_

Everything went white again. I couldn't see out of my left eye anymore.

Black smoke, golden light and hellfire flared up in the space behind my eyes. They filled me up, from the top of my head to the soles of my feet.

The pain faded.

_WHUMP!_

Goat Boy was so busy kicking my ass he didn't notice the black smoke that rose up from my fingers and toes.

_WHUMP!_

I felt a mild thump outside as he hit me, light pinches inside as the snakes bit into me.

_WHUMP!_

No pain.

I lifted my head, stared Krampus in the eyes. Goat Boy froze. He stared at me wide-eyed. I winked pitch black, flashes of gold and red at him.

"NO NO NO!"

Yes yes yes. Bitch.

What was inside me came out. I turned into a huge coil of thick black smoke that twisted up into the air.

Krampus grabbed at me with his claws. Dumbass. I slipped right through.

Those raggedy clothes of mine slid off the roof. I didn't care. Didn't need 'em. They were tangled up with the damn snake chains. Their jaws opened and closed but they couldn't hold me either. Once I smoked out the clothes and the chains slid down the roof into the snow. I heard the rattle of the chains as they slithered up Goat Boy's legs and disappeared underneath his robe.

Once I shifted I saw everything in black and white, like night vision, but the tint was reddish gold instead of green. The center was clear and sharp; the edges were blurry. Goat Boy's yellow eyes glowed bright white.

I didn't have vocal chords, but that didn't stop me from messing with the bastard. _"What's the matter, darlin', don't you love me anymore?"_

The look of shock on his butt fugly face was priceless.

I'd just busted my smoke essence cherry and I liked it. I liked it a lot. I wanted more, but I didn't have time to sightsee. I had work to do.

But I needed my hands for that. My hands and the First Blade.

I blinked out over Goat Boy's head. I came back twenty feet away in a snap of red and gold light. I was flesh again, bare ass naked as the day I was born, standing barefoot in ankle deep snow. Temps were below zero, and all I felt was a cool breeze over my skin.

Damn, I felt good!

I was whole again. My soul sang underneath my skin. I'm not a fan of that New Age bullcrap, but there's no other way for me to describe it. No words, but the sound made my skin tingle. And underneath that I sensed the Mark. She didn't sing, but I knew she was there.

Krampus moved. He grabbed the car frame I'd been chained. His body shook when he lifted it up. The rear axle and the passenger side door fell off. He raised it off the ground a foot and then threw it at me.

No big deal. I raised my right hand and tossed it aside with a flick of my wrist. The car went sideways. It bounced once, then twice and then plowed into a snowdrift.

Huh. That was pretty damn weak.

" _You tried to break me."_ I smirked at him. My voice sounded inhuman. Full of the demon. The sky overhead darkened. Lightning flashed with each word I said.

" _Alastair tortured me for thirty years down in Hell before I broke. Did you really think that shitty twenty minutes you just put me through would do the job?"_

The Mark glowed. Wind swirled around my ankles. It blew the snow away, pushed the drifts back.

I took one look at what was uncovered and stopped short. So did the Mark.

A small pale hand poked out of a snowdrift nearby.

There were bodies underneath the snow.

* * *


	9. when what to my wondering eyes should appear…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean faces off against Krampus for the last time. The Christmas Demon has a final trick up his sleeve.

Small bodies. They were cut up, slashed to pieces, and that looked pretty damn familiar.

The body of what used to be a little girl lay nearby. Her face was dusted with snow. She had a long slash across her eyes.

My eyes narrowed as I stared at her. I'd slashed Goat Boy across the eyes, hadn't I?

One of the snow covered lumps looked like a ball. I cast out my mojo and blew the snow away. It wasn't a ball. It was the upside down head of a little boy. Above the mouth I saw the severed stump of a neck. Below that a mouth, open and slack. Then a nose. Below that dead eyes wide open and staring.

_Damn._

"You used them," I muttered out loud.

Krampus lunged at me. I 'ported out and came back behind him. He scrambled around to face me. No smooth moves here. He looked shaky.

Good.

We stared at each other.

"You used them. Everyone you ever took. You made them your bitch and you used them, You took their life force when you needed it. All the damage I did to you went to them. That's why you healed up so fast. That's why I couldn't kill your sorry ass before." I nodded at the bodies laying all around. "Now you don't have anyone left, do you? They're all gone."

Krampus bared his teeth. "It doesn't matter. None of this does."

His robe rippled and moved.

Sixty of the damn snake head chains pushed their way out into the open again. They raised up in the air on either side of Krampus. Bastards looked pretty lively.

"I tasted your power when my lovelies bit you inside, Knight. It's enough. More than enough. You should feel grateful, Dean. Saint Nicholas wanted to kill you and your brother. What you are today you owe it all to me."

Goat Boy drew himself up to his full height. "You will not escape me." He jerked his head at the house. "And neither will they."

I raised my right hand. The First Blade came to me. I smiled at him. "This is the part of the story where I keep my promise about that threesome. And if nothing else I'm a man of my word."

Krampus howled. His chains hissed and rattled.

We charged at each other.

The snakes lashed out at me. Deja vu all over again. I didn't back off.

The Mark of Cain glowed. The air around me flared red. The chains shrank back. They were afraid of us

Damn right they should be.

The killing energy of the Mark of Cain exploded around me. The snake chains turned to ash just like the minions did.

Time to go to work.

I scaled Krampus like a cliff face. I took a step off his knee and another off his hip. I dropped my right arm and plunged the First Blade deep into his belly. When I swung the Blade up I unzipped him from his belly button to his throat.

Goat Boy screamed. Red light streamed out of his nose, eyes and mouth. He fell backwards. I was on top. We hit so hard the ground shook and a cloud of snow rose up all around us.

The light faded as I pulled the First Blade out.

Krampus was dead. Burned out eyes, mouth stretched open in mid-scream. Whatever power he took from me wasn't enough.

I stepped down. Just as I did the front door of Marty's house opened. Marty ran out onto the front porch. "Dean! Hey, Dean!"

Right then and there I realized that I was commando in front of the kid. Not good. Krampus lay on the ground between me and the house. I opened my mouth to tell Marty to stay there. Then I stopped.

The hair at the back of my neck stood up straight and painful. Something was happening.

I looked down.

Goat Boy's body jittered and jerked. He was dead. Eyes wide and staring. No breath. No life. He was dead.

_You will not escape me..._

But he had one last move to make.

_...and neither will they..._

He'd poisoned whatever mojo he took from me. Poisoned it so he could use it against me. The build-up of power in the air stung my skin.

Krampus blew apart. Yellow light scorched the ground. Snow melted.

The shock wave rolled out of him and past me. The killing energy headed for the house. I couldn't let that happen. Marty and his family weren't going to die.

Dammit, not tonight.

I blinked black. I threw up a shield over and around us. I held it. My bones rattled as my skin burned, but I held it. I had to.

I couldn't see anything but dark yellow light. I don't know how long I stood like that, but after a while I could see again.

There was a large hole in the ground. Another, smaller hole right in front of me It was dark. Oily.

Krampus.

I felt tired. Weak. My skin cooled. Couldn't keep the shield up anymore. It was heavy, so I dropped it. I stood there swaying on my feet back and forth. The ground looked soft. It was so far away. All I had to do was let go.

Then:

"Son? Dean?"

I blinked green. I couldn't see at first. Everything looked so cloudy.

Then I saw Dad.

He was here. He came back. He came back to have the holiday with us. Sammy stood next to him. He was seven years old and I didn't understand that. He was freakishly tall and pissed off the last time I saw him.

The kid grinned at me all goofy.

I tried to smile back but my muscles weren't working. So I nodded instead.

Dad's voice sounded funny. Like it was him, but it wasn't. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I heard myself say. " 'm...I'm..."

My knees buckled. The ground rushed up at me and everything went black.

 


	10. merry christmas to all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even a wayward Knight of Hell deserves a decent Christmas Eve dinner.

"Hey. Hey, Dean?"

I came back to myself with a jerk. I stared down at my chest and shoulders. Damn, this was confusing. I was covered in stripes. Damn black and brown stripes.

What the hell? What happened to my Hawaiian shirt? I liked that shirt. It was a nice shirt. So many pretty flowers….

_Good grief_ , the Mark of Cain muttered inside my head. _Snap out of it._ The fog inside my head began to clear. I remembered that Hawaiian shirt was a bundle of rags in the snow now. Damn.

I sat on the ground. I was covered in a blanket but my ass was cold. Something warm flooded my skin from the inside. Better.

A kid came into view. Dark hair. Worried look. I didn't like that. A kid shouldn't ever look like that. I wondered where Sammy got those clothes. I didn't recognize them. They looked new, not those thrift store specials we were used to.

I shook my head. _No._ _Not Sam._ _Marty._

Marty's dad knelt beside me on my left. Marty was on my right.

The blanket was soft and warm. I pulled it even tighter around my chest and shoulders.

The Mark and my soul hummed underneath my skin. They were busy. Bones knitted back together. My skin healed.

Harris quirked an eyebrow at me. "So. Do you like turkey?"

"Huh?"

"We've got egg nog. With Jack Black."

"Is that..." I blinked at him. "Did...did you just invite me to dinner?"

Marty's dad nodded. "It'd be rude not to after what you did for us. So, do you like turkey?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do. Ummm….You had pie." That was a statement, not a question.

"We got apple. And peach. Come on. I'll help you up." Harris put my left arm over his shoulder.

Marty moved out of the way.

His dad held my wrist with his hand, leaned into me and then stood us up slowly. I wobbled at first.

When he took a step forward I stumbled. My knees wouldn't unbend. Funny thing was I didn't want to be helped. I wanted to move on my own, but I couldn't. My muscles were limp. Nothing worked right.

After a few more steps I got the hang of walking again.

Marty flicked a quick glance at me. "Thanks, Dean."

"You're welcome, dude. Anytime."

Marty's expression lightened. His mouth twitched up into a grin. I liked that better.

"I think we got some clothes that will fit you," his dad said. "I dunno about the shoes."

I nodded. "Thanks."

There were people all around us. The Harris family stood on the front porch of their house. The people from the neighborhood were out on their porches.

Snow crunched. Somebody was on my right side. I narrowed my eyes as I turned my head in that direction. Two young dudes from the apartment building bulled their way over the snowdrifts. I remembered them. Camera Guy and his sidekick, Stuck On Stupid. He pointed his camera at us and they both stood there staring.

I knew what they were seeing. My skin healed. Bruises faded. Scratches and burns too. Oh yeah, there was a You Tube video in my immediate future. I smiled a litle as I imagined the shocked look on Sam's face when he saw that. Shock first, then he'd bitchface.

Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. What the hell. I looked at Camera Guy and I grinned. I blinked black and winked at him.

"HOLY SHIT!" Camera Guy jerked back but he kept filming. His buddy's mouth dropped open even wider.

"Dude, did you see that? Tell me you got that! Please tell me you got that!"

"I got it, I got it!"

I rolled my eyes and blinked green again.

I felt better by the time we reached the stairs. Marty's mom and his grandmother smiled and nodded at me. They weren't afraid of me any more. The uncle who screamed backed up. He looked like he wanted to bolt but he didn't.

Camera Guy and Captain Stupid followed us up onto the porch.

"Excuse me, dudes, can we come inside -"

Marty turned and slammed the door in the dude's face.

 


	11. Epilogue: ...and to all a good night!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demon Dean meets Old Saint Nick. That might not end well. COMPLETE.

I caught up with Fat Boy on a rooftop in Truro, Massachusetts.

Nice neighborhood. Below and all around me holiday lights blinked on and off. It was peaceful up there. I could stay up there all night.I wanted to, but I couldn't.

I had work to do.

The lead reindeer had a very shiny red nose. He tossed his head when he looked at me. He looked bored. They all did. The reindeer on the roof were the biggest I'd ever seen.

They didn't seem that surprised when I blinked into view. I had on a white shirt that was a little tight across my shoulders. The blue jeans were Marty's dad's too. They were too short for me. I didn't have shoes on either, but that was okay. I didn't feel the cold.

The chimney rattled. I watched as Fat Boy pushed his way out into the open air. Yeah, he was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf. His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry...well, you get the idea. The sack he carried on his back was bigger than he was.

Believe the hype for once. The whole set-up was pretty impressive. Krampus was the flip side, the ugly side of Santa Claus. This was the glamour side.

The thing was, Ol' Nick wanted to kill me and Sam when we were kids. He had the wrong impression about Winchesters. That was definitely going to change.

He dropped down to the roof and walked towards the sleigh. As I walked out from behind the sleigh the reindeer perked up. They turned to watch.

The look of shock on Nick's face was priceless. He dropped the sack of presents. I grabbed him by the coat and pushed him backwards into the chimney.

Ho ho ho my ass.

I smiled at him, bright and feral. He shook all over as I put the First Blade underneath his throat. "Nick, ol' boy, we need to talk."

_~finis~_

 


End file.
